Coyoteopoly nets grant from National Endowment for the Arts, South Dakota Tourism Board to support South Dakota Shakespeare Festival

VERMILLION, S.D. -- The National Endowment for the Arts and the South Dakota Tourism Board has awarded the University of South Dakota’s Coyoteopoly a $3,500 grant in support of the South Dakota Shakespeare Festival.

Launched in 2012 by members of the USD Department of Theatre faculty Chaya Gordon-Bland and Scott Mollman and Beacom School of Business professor Gregory Huckabee, the South Dakota Shakespeare Festival is held in June at Vermillion’s Prentis Park. The South Dakota Shakespeare Festival was developed to increase the cultural, artistic and educational offerings to the people of the Vermillion community and surrounding area. In addition to high quality, professional Shakespeare performances, the Festival includes educational artistic events in a free and accessible format.

With contributions from more than 100 sponsors from eight states, the South Dakota Shakespeare Festival is owned and produced by Coyoteopoly-Rotary, a USD Beacom School of Business-student run corporation that strives to provide charitable work for the Vermillion area. Since its inception in the fall of 2004, Coyoteopoly has had a net revenue of more than $200,000 that has gone directly to charities and organizations of local interest. For more information, please visit: http://orgs.usd.edu/coyoteopoly/ShakespeareFestival.

About The University of South Dakota

Founded in 1862, The University of South Dakota is designated as the only public liberal arts university in the state and is home to a comprehensive College of Arts and Sciences, School of Education, School of Health Sciences, the state's only School of Law, School of Medicine, the accredited Beacom School of Business and the College of Fine Arts. USD has an enrollment of more than 10,000 students taught by more than 400 faculty members. More information is available at www.usd.edu/press/news.

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